1 held over racist Pokemon stickers on London transport

London, Dec 1 (PTI) A 46-year-old man was arrested today in connection with a series of racist Pokemon-style stickers that appeared across Londons transport network last week.

The man was held on "suspicion of inciting racial hatred", British Transport Police (BTP) said.

"The arrest, which was supported by officers from the Metropolitan Police, is in connection with the appearance of racist Pokemon style stickers on the London Underground and at bus stops throughout the capital. The man remains in police custody as enquiries continue," a BTP statement said.

The stickers mimicked the popular childrens card game where players are awarded points for collecting Pokemon based on their rarity.

The mock-up versions of the Pokemon cards mimicked the real games slogan Gotta catchem all.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was among the images on the cards spotted at a Tube station in south London.

He was given the name Hamaskhan in an an attempt to link him to Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

It read "Description: Probably the most dangerous Pakemon Hamaskhan believes that Londoners should learn to accept Islamic terrorism whilst he is mayor. Weaknesses: Hamaskhans hatred of Christians and Jews will result in him losing power and a long prison sentence".

US President Barack Obama was also featured, described as "the USAs Muslim in Chief".

Far-right Twitter accounts have been sharing the photos of the stickers, urging people to swap and collect them.

British police had said it was treating the cards as a hate crime as it launched an investigation last week. PTI AK CPS

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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